Four in five of us hoarding drawers full of junk

Takeaway menus, old mobile phones and bits of string are among the things cluttering up our homes, according to a new study.

And although we are in National Spring Clean Week, we wait an average of six years to have a clear out.

The survey has revealed just how much Brits hoard in their homes. 80 per cent of us admit to having a ‘drawer of clutter’.

The most common contents of these stoor-infested hidey-holes tend to be batteries (69 per cent), Sellotape (66 per cent) and chargers and plugs (63 per cent).

‘How Clean Is Your House’ star Aggie MacKenzie said: “These results revealing that eight out of 10 of us have a guilty drawer of hidden mess aren’t surprising – it seems to be a household staple - and whilst its contents can be of use, there are items in there that would be better used by someone else.”

Happily, when we eventually do get round to that spring-clean, we do put out unwanted items to good use. 65 per cent of us say we give our items such as clothes, DVDs and home ware to charity after a clear out.

However, while the survey found that 57 per cent of us have old phones lying around at home, and 70 per cent of us say we’ll use these items again one day, the research reveals that this isn’t the case.

Indeed, 22 per cent of those questioned were unaware of recycling options for old phones.

Three UK have Freepost envelopes available in their stores so that anyone wanting to send an old mobile for charitable collection can do so via their Reconnected scheme. See www.three.co.uk.